This was so much fun! I assumed it would be upper middle grade, like Friend's last book WHERE YOU'LL FIND ME, and this one's a little older--the two main characters, Hollis and Milo, are 14 and 15 and in high school. But just like WHERE YOU'LL FIND ME, the book is an absorbing read. It certainly has its poignant moments, but my favorite parts of this novel are the funny ones. There's so much great banter, and J.J. Rabinowitz is one of the most fun and charming characters I've met in a novel in a long time. It has a dramatic premise for sure, but it was the relatable friend and family dynamics that really won me over.

The Other F-Word is a realistic look at the ranges of emotional reaction by teenagers facing the idea of meeting(or not meeting) their sperm donor. Milo is the son of Suzanne and Frankie, but the hope that his donor dad could shed some light on Milo's multiple life-threatening allergies drives him to reach out to his half-siblings and to donor #9677. Hollis is the daughter of Pam and Leigh. She and Leigh still haven't dealt with their feelings about Pam's death, but Leigh thinks it is a sign from Pam when Milo calls. They agree to meet up in New York to discuss their in vitro sperm donor, and find even more half-siblings: Noah and Jake, brothers that couldn't be more different, and Abby, an aspiring writer. Along the way they all learn that family is so much more than biology, and so much more complicated than just who raised you.

I absolutely loathed the characters. They represented so many things that I hate about people. I could not finish, unfortunately.

Just didn't connect with this book. And was disappointed as I have really liked Ms. Friend's books in the past.

I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Both Milo and Hollis were great narrators and their differing views on looking for their sperm donor father was nicely done. My absolute favorite parts of this book, and where the story absolutely thrives is with the interactions beween Milo, Hollis, Abby & Noah. They're abolutely hysterical together. I would love to read more of the four of them (plus Josh if he does decide to interact with his half-siblings).

Now where the story lost the star for me. The ages. of the characters. Hollis at 14 having sex with a boy she didn't care one way or another about were the actions of a much older character and I actually had to doublecheck a few times what age she should be. Milo's actions as a 15 year old boy seemed slightly more spot on, but there were times that he acted older then his age. The characters could have benefited slightly more by all being even just a couple of years older, it would have made their actions more realistic.

I was granted an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I repeat this a lot, but my initial interest in this book was due to the cover and the snappy title. What can I say, I like shiny, pretty things. Then I read the blurb, and thought the concept could yield an interesting read. Lucky for me, the story was not only interesting, but quite amusing as well.
I was conceived in a petri dish.
My father is out there.
I have a half brother.
I was sort of emotionally drained from my last read, and that probably made me more receptive to this book, because it made me laugh, and laugh, and laugh. This is a character driven story told from the POVs of Milo, the boy allergic to the world, and Hollis, the girl who is mad at the world. Milo enlists Hollis on his quest to find their sperm-donor dad, and she reluctantly agrees.
“But this is my quest, okay? I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true. And I want you to come with me.”
“On your quest.”
“On my quest.”
“You want me to leave the Shire and go face the freaking dragon with you?”
I greatly enjoyed the interactions between Milo and Hollis. Both were extremely bright and total book worms. Their banter was fun and witty. But I would say Hollis was the more compelling MC. At the onset of the story, Hollis came off as a very angry girl, but as the story played on, we learned that there are multiple reasons for this anger. A major source of her anger is due to losing her other mother to cancer when she was seven years old. She is harboring some serious guilt from her last day with Pam, and it was quite heartbreaking when it is revealed. There are other peripheral issues such as her long undiscussed anger with her ex-friend and the "numbing" activities that she is partaking in. It was Hollis' story that gave the book more emotional depth, and I really loved being there with her while she embarked on this healing journey.

I thought many of the secondary characters were fabulous. The four sperm-siblings were a force to be reckoned with when they started group chats/emails. Each sibling was given a distinct personality, but also had a little piece of each other in them.
JJ Rabinowitz, honorary sperm sibling.
Then there was JJ. At first, I didn't quite understand JJ's role, but as I read on, I grew to love the big goof ball. He added yet another perspective on this self-identity issue, as he did not know either of his biological parents. But, he was also a wonderful, supportive friend. He was there for Milo and encouraged him, but also served as the voice of reason when necessary (believe it or not). I thought his friendship with Hollis was adorable, and was glad that he was able to help her work through some of her issues.

I appreciated the way Friend incorporated the issues same sex families faced prior to the marriage equality act. It really broke my heart when both Hollis and Leigh related their stories. And, she contrast that with what Milo's moms had, as they were able to legally marry.

Overall: a sweet and funny adventure of sperm-donor siblings trying to find their "dad" where they actually end up finding themselves and each other.

Hollis and Milo are half-siblings, sharing a sperm donor as a father. Together they discover several other children who were conceived using the same man's sperm and they all set out to contact him.

I know a few families like this so I was eager to read and hopefully have something to recommend to their teenaged kids. I wanted so much to like this more than I did. I think I might still recommend it to them but with the caveat that it didn't feel realistic to me and therefore might not feel realistic to them.

The very first thing that I wish had been better was Milo's reason for contacting his sperm donor: severe allergies. Like his mom Frankie asks, why? The doctor's suggestion seems wholly unnecessary, especially since the donor was anonymous. I find it difficult to believe a doctor would tell a 16 year old patient he should track down his sperm donor for...what? information? If it was life-threatening, perhaps, but this isn't anything the donor can do to help him. Milo can be tested for the genetic component of the allergy on his own.

With that in mind, the story follows a path of another book referenced in the novel: The Hobbit, or actually Lord of the Rings, with Milo as Frodo on his quest to return to Mordor with his group of 9. We didn't truly get to know any of the other half-siblings other than Hollis who also narrates the book. She isn't too excited about finding her donor but she goes along with Milo plus Milo's best friend, JJ, an adopted kid, is cute and funny.

I probably bought Hollis' story a little more. It felt more fully fleshed-out and real to me. However, a major issue for her is that she fooling around with a guy who is involved with a girl she has hated since second grade. Revenge, okay, I get that but when this finally becomes resolved - in a scene that is barely a page long - I found it completely implausible.

The book was a quick read, just one day for me and I didn't skim or anything! Others might like it more than I did. Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.

I enjoyed how similar yet different the two main characters are. I enjoyed how Milo wanted to know about their sperm donor mostly for medical reasons. It did an excellent job discussing how the other parent feels when the child isn't biologically theirs.